Inside The Wall - Caleb VanSteenwyk (short books to read .txt) 📗

I know. And then there’s Clyde. He was probably the only kid in this room. Maybe the only kid to ever be in this room.
“Here it is.” Scar said, and opened up a wooden door. Inside were some blankets, that’s it. Four of them. One for us to sleep on, one to cover us up. The rest of the room was just white walls, and bare earth.
This would be my home for a while now, I knew.
Chapter Seven

At 8:00 A.M. the next morning, Tyson woke up Clyde and me. I was extremely tired after the events of the past couple days, and my body pushed me to close my eyes and fall back asleep. Clyde, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite. He was up as soon as Tyson entered the room. Clyde was doing everything he could to get me up – screaming jumping, kicking, until my eyes slowly adjusted to the light and I got up groggily. Finally, I was up, although I still felt tired. Tyson was waiting for us outside of our door.
“Good morning.” Tyson greeted us.
“Not for me.” I replied.
“Well, since you’re knew, you’ll need a weapon besides just the knife your carrying on you. You were extremely lucky to defeat that guard with it. Plus, President Clover put your name on the wanted list. Every guard in the city can recognize your face and will fire at you on sight. And once you’re on their list, you can’t get off. That’s why were providing you with a gun.” Tyson explained.
“Do I get one, too?” Clyde asked.
“Probably not yet.” Tyson replied, much to Clyde’s disappointment. “Later, you probably will, though. Follow me.”
Tyson led us to the other end of the large room filled with tables, and to the steel door.
“When do we eat?” Clyde asked.
“Whenever you want.” Tyson replied. “Just get food how you used to get it. There’s no way we could feed over a hundred people ourselves. We need some help on your part.”
“Great.” I said, disappointed. I had a feeling that stealing from people wasn’t exactly the best way to keep away from the guard’s attention.
“How’s the door open?” I asked. It was locked in three different places- a chain, a steel bar running across parallel to the ground, and one regular deadbolt lock.
“It’s actually very simple.” Tyson explained. “All you have to do is push on this brick here.” He put his hand on a brick to the left side of the door. On it was the Rebellion’s symbol – a cross through the letter N. When Tyson pushed on the brick, there were a couple of clicks, and the steel bar was off the door. Tyson pushed in another brick with the same symbol, and the deadbolt disengaged. Finally, he pushed on a brick above the door, and the chain loosened. Tyson was then able to open the door, revieling a room filled with shelves of guns and ammunition.
“Where’d you get all this security?” I asked. “The stairs, this door, and all your other precautions?”
“We have someone to do that for us. He’s not officially a member of the Rebellion, and no one really talks to him but Scar. Scar is very close to him. All I know about him is that he is really good at all this stuff. We can always hear him mumbling to himself. His name is Venus.”
“Wow.” I said.
“Well, in we go.” Tyson said. Everything in the room was neatly organized. On one shelf were handguns, on another sniper rifles, and so on. Below each shelf was another shelf with the ammo to go with it. On the floor near these shelves were piles of other supplies.
“That’s quite a collection of weapons you have here.” I exclaimed. “Where do you get them?”
“Well, most of them are honestly taken from deceased guards. It’s not the best or most honorable way to get weapons, but it’s the only way. A couple were hidden when the Nobles came through and took them all, and were given to us by their owners.”
“First, you’ll need a handgun to carry with you at all times.” He moved over to the handgun shelf and scanned the selection for a little while. There were probably over twenty different kinds of handguns there, and different ammos to go with them. Tyson made his selection, and carried it over to me. He handed me a grey pistol with the butt of the gun separated from the rest by a small gap.
“This is the Mustang .457. You’ll have to pull back the back part every time. When you hear a click, the bullet has been placed in the barrel, and it will way there until you fire. Than it will rock forwards fast, but the kick will still go towards you. It’s a very powerful weapon, but you can only get off so many shots. You’ll need some practice shooting to see if it’s the gun for you, though.”
“Cool. What do you want me to shoot at?” I asked.
“Me. It’s loaded with mock bullets. It won’t hurt a bit, but the recoil will be just as much. Try it out.”
“Alright.” I replied, and struggled to pull out the back part. I couldn’t quite get a grip on it. When I finally did, I pulled it back with a lot of strain until it clicked. Than I aimed and fired at Tyson’s chest. The recoil ensued immediately after I pulled the trigger, and my shoulder snapped backwards, almost as load as the gun itself.
I yelped in surprise, and held my shoulder. “That things got a LOT of power.” I kept holding my shoulder. I felt as if my shoulder had simply fallen off my body.
“Yeah. That’s to be expected the first time you fire one of these. One of the disadvantages of the Mustang is that it has more recoil than a lot of our larger guns. You want to try a different gun?” Tyson asked.
“Yeah. But this time, have it less recoil.” I told him.
“I have the perfect weapon for that problem.” Tyson said, and put the mustang back on the shelf where it was before. He picked up a dark blue-ish grey handgun with a small clip coming out of the bottom in front of the trigger. He handed it to me, and if felt like plastic. The gun was slightly malleable, not steel like the Mustang was. Lighter, too.
“What’s this thing made of? It feels lighter than air.” I asked.
“That is the Trident. It’s made of shock-absorbent material. It absorbs all the recoil, resulting in no kickback. The gun itself just absorbs all the energy. The Trident is a remarkable weapon, and can shoot just as fast as you can pull the trigger. Try it out.” Tyson explained.
“Am I supposed to shoot you again?” I asked.
“Yeah. It’s filled with mock bullets. But this time, fire all the rounds in the clip until you hear a click, indicating that the gun is out of rounds.”
“Alright.” I replied, and raised the light gun. It took no effort to pull the trigger, and I emptied all ten rounds in less than a second, before it answered with a click.
When I lowered my weapon, Tyson was smiling. “Well, all ten rounds hit my chest, and in less than ten seconds. I think we found your weapon.” Tyson said, still smiling like a madman. He then walked over and picked up several small clips of ammo for the Trident, and a shoulder holster that included a spot for the gun, and the extra clips.
“Here. This is all you’ll need to take care of the gun. I’d recommend hiding the shoulder rig under your shirt, just so no one gets suspicious. Only use it in emergency, against guards or Nobles. We won’t have anyone hurting a Peasant.”
“Don’t worry. I’d never shoot any Peasants.” I replied.
“I expected that you wouldn’t, but Scar has me tell that to everyone who gets their first gun here.”

Chapter Eight

After getting my equipment, I left the safety of the base to get some money. Me and Clyde needed to eat. The Rebellion didn’t supply food, because it would simply be too many mouths to feed. I climbed onto the familiar rooftops, and lifted Clyde up as well. I scanned everywhere I could see for a victim that would make it worthwhile. One person in particular cought my eye, but it was a risky endeavor.
The victim was a Noble. If I was caught, guards would be called in and it could be the end of me. But if I successfully stole from him, I wouldn’t have to steal again for months. I had to get his money.
I pointed to the Noble, in much nicer clothes than everyone else, telling Clyde he was the one I was going to steal from. He was large, in a nice black suit. He seemed to just be walking around, scanning the area. Rarely did they come in our District. But this must be a special occasion for him.
“Are you sure you want to steal from a Noble?” Clyde asked. “If your caught, guards will be here, and you just killed a guard a few days ago! They’ll recognize you immediately!”
“Relax. I won’t get caught, and if I do, we have time before the guards get here. The most he’ll do on his own is yell at me. Plus, if I get his money, I won’t have to steal for months, and I could lay low during that time. You stay behind me, and I’ll get his money, alright?”
“Okay. I guess the reward is enough.” Clyde said.
“Good.” I replied, and leaped down from the roof onto the dirt. The Noble was walking ten yards in front of me, and I waved him down from the rooftop. He landed awkwardly, with one knee collapsing to the ground. I looked closer at the Noble. He had his wallet in his front suit pocket. All his money would be there. I put a finger to my lips, silencing Clyde, and starting walking normally towards the Noble. If I ran into him at the same time, he wouldn’t feel me grabbing his wallet. All he’d know is